From the 'Lectric Law Library's StacksDepartment of Justice (DOJ) Programs

The most absurd apology for authority and law is that they serve to diminish crime. Aside from the fact that the State is itself the greatest criminal, breaking every written and natural law, stealing in the form of taxes, killing in the form of war and capital punishment, it has come to an absolute standstill in coping with crime. It has failed utterly to destroy or even minimize the horrible scourge of its own creation. ~Emma Goldman, Anarchism

PREMIUM ROOMS

Department of Justice (DOJ) Programs

The Concentration of Federal Efforts Program and the Missing
Children's Program are also under the Office's direction. The
Concentration of Federal Efforts Program coordinates Federal
programs dealing with juvenile delinquency and assists Federal
agencies that have responsibility for delinquency prevention and
treatment. It also promotes interagency cooperation in eliminating
duplicate efforts and provides direction for the use of Federal
resources in facilitating a comprehensive, unified Federal juvenile
justice policy.

The Missing Children's Program was created in 1984 by the Missing
Children's Assistance Act to provide Federal leadership in ensuring
that every practical step is taken in recovering missing children,
reuniting them with their families, and prosecuting abductors.

The Program serves as a central focus for research, data collection,
policy development, training professionals in the field, and
providing information about missing and exploited children. It also
funds the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which
operates a national toll-free telephone line and serves as a
national information clearinghouse.

Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)

The Office serves as the Justice Department's chief advocate for
crime victims and their families. This includes carrying out the
activities mandated by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA), as
amended (42 U.S.C. 10601 note); monitoring compliance with the
provisions regarding assistance for Federal crime victims of the
Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982; and implementing the
recommendations of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime,
and the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence.

A Crime Victims Fund was created by VOCA in the U.S. Treasury to
provide Federal financial assistance to State governments to
compensate and assist victims of crime. Monies in the fund come from
fines and penalties assessed on convicted Federal defendants. The
Office awards grants to States to compensate crime victims for
expenses, such as medical costs, resulting from their victimization.
Grants also are awarded to State governments to support State and
local programs that provide direct assistance to crime victims and
their families. Priority for victim assistance funds is given to
programs providing direct services to victims of sexual assault,
spouse abuse, and child abuse. States also must use grant funds to
assist previously underserved victim populations, such as victims of
drunk drivers or the families of homicide victims.

A small portion of the Crime Victims Fund is available to support
services for victims of Federal crimes. Programs under this
initiative have focused on developing victim assistance services for
Federal crime victims in Indian country, creating a Federal crime
victim assistance fund for use by U.S. attorneys offices to pay for
emergency services for Federal crime victims, and assisting Native
American child abuse victims.

In collaboration with other agencies and groups, OVC administers
numerous projects serving the victims of drug-related crimes. The
Office also supports demonstration, training, and technical
assistance programs to improve and coordinate services to crime
victims.

Examples of grants are: training projects that improve or expand
victim services provided by particular groups of professionals such
as law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and probation,
parole, and corrections personnel; projects that address special
needs of victims of particular types of crimes such as sexual
assault, bias-related crimes, elder abuse, and workplace violence;
and projects that catalog and promote the use of promising practices
in serving crime victims. In addition, each year OVC sponsors
National Crime Victims' Rights Week to increase public awareness of
crime victims' special needs and to honor those who work on behalf
of victims. The OVC Resource Center, which provides information
concerning victims issues to victims advocates, criminal justice
practitioners, and the public, is funded by OVC. The Center may be
reached toll-free on 1800627 6872.

Violence Against Women Program Office

The Violence Against Women Program Office coordinates the activities
of the Bureaus within OJP relating to violence against women. It
also establishes the policy for and administers the Department's
formula and discretionary grant programs authorized by the Violence
Against Women Act of 1994.

These programs assist the Nation's criminal justice system to
respond to the needs and concerns of women who have been, or
potentially could be, victimized by violence. The programs emphasize
enhanced delivery of services to women victimized by violence, and
work to strengthen outreach efforts to minorities and disabled
women. The Office provides technical assistance to State and tribal
government officials in planning innovative and effective criminal
justice responses to violent crimes committed against women. The
Office provides Indian tribal governments with funds to develop and
strengthen the tribal justice system's response to violent crimes
committed against Native American women through a discretionary
grant program.

Drug Court Program Office

The Drug Office was established to support the development and
implementation of effective Drug Court programming at the State,
local, and tribal level. The Office administers the Drug Court Grant
Program as authorized by Title V of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

This discretionary grant program assists local units of government
in the planning, implementation, and improvement of Drug Courts
which target non-violent, drug-involved offenders. The Office
strives to strengthen existing Drug Courts and develop new Drug
Courts, encouraging them to provide continuing judicial supervision,
mandatory periodic testing for substance abuse among clients,
substance abuse treatment, offender supervision, management and
aftercare, combined with appropriate sanctions for failure to comply
with program requirements. The Office works closely with agencies
and organizations involved in the areas of justice and recovery. The
Office also develops and delivers appropriate technical assistance
and training to enhance the effectiveness and operation of both
existing and new Drug Courts.

Corrections Program Office

The Office provides leadership and assistance to State and local
governments related to correctional policy and programs designed to
reduce crime, increase public safety, and restore integrity to
sentencing practices for violent offenders. The Office administers
correctional programs authorized by the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994, as amended, including the Violent
Offender Incarceration/Truth in Sentencing and Residential Substance
Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Programs.

The Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth in Sentencing Program
provides formula grant funds to the States to build and expand
correctional facilities to increase secure space for the confinement
of violent offenders and the implementation of truth in sentencing
laws. The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program is designed
to reduce drug and criminal activity among offenders released back
into the community by producing formula grant funds to develop and
expand substance abuse treatment programs for offenders while
incarcerated in State and local correctional facilities.

The Corrections Program Office also provides technical assistance
and training to State and local correctional policymakers and
practitioners to encourage the adoption of sound correctional
policies and "best practices." For further information, contact the
Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, Office of Justice
Programs, Department of Justice, 633 Indiana Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20531. Phone, 2023070781.

Boards Executive Office for Immigration Review Falls Church, VA
22041 The Attorney General is responsible for the administration and
enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C.
1101) and all other laws relating to the immigration and
naturalization of aliens. Certain powers and authorities of the
Attorney General for the administration and interpretation of the
immigration laws are delegated to the Executive Office for
Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is
completely independent of and separate from both the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, the body charged with the enforcement of the
immigration laws, and the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration
Related Unfair Employment Practices, the entity charged with the
enforcement of the antidiscrimination provisions of the Immigration
Reform and Control Act. It includes the Board of Immigration
Appeals, the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, and the Office
of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer. It operates under the
supervision of the Deputy Attorney General and is headed by a
Director, who is responsible for the immediate supervision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals, the Office of the Chief Immigration
Judge, and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer.

Board of Immigration Appeals

The Board of Immigration Appeals is a quasi-judicial body composed
of 12 members, including the Chair and Vice Chair, and a Chief
Attorney-Examiner who is also an alternate Board member.

The Board hears oral argument at its Falls Church, VA location. A
staff of attorney-advisers assists the Board in the preparation of
decisions.

The Board has been given nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals
from decisions entered by district and center directors of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service and by immigration judges. In
addition, the Board is responsible for hearing appeals involving the
suspension or barring from practice of attorneys and representatives
before the Service and the Board.

Decisions of the Board are binding on all Service officers and
immigration judges unless modified or overruled by judicial review
in the Federal courts. The majority of appeals reaching the Board
involve orders of deportation and applications for relief from
deportation.

Other cases before the Board include the exclusion of aliens
applying for admission to the United States, petitions to classify
the status of alien relatives for the issuance of preference
immigrant visas, fines imposed upon carriers for the violation of
the immigration laws, and motions for reopening and reconsideration
of decisions previously rendered.

Following a review of the record and research into questions of law
raised by the parties, an attorney-adviser drafts a proposed order
for consideration of the Board members, frequently conferring with
individual Board members concerning the proposed order.

Attorney-advisers also assist in various administrative and support
functions. In addition to developing expertise in the field of
immigration law, they are often called upon to analyze questions of
constitutional law, State, Federal, and foreign civil and criminal
law.

Office of the Chief Immigration Judge

The Office provides overall direction for the 178 U.S. immigration
judges located in 34 immigration courts throughout the Nation.
Immigration judges are responsible for conducting formal quasi-
judicial proceedings and act independently in their decisionmaking
capacity. Their decisions are administratively final, unless appeal
or certified to the Board. Through its Criminal Immigration Judge,
the Office currently has programs in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, the
District of Columbia, and selected municipalities and Bureau of
Prison facilities to adjudicate the immigration status of alien
inmates incarcerated by Federal, State, and municipal correction
authorities as a result of convictions for criminal offenses.

In exclusion proceedings, an immigration judge determines whether an
individual arriving from a foreign country should be allowed to
enter the United States or should be excluded and deported. Located
throughout the United States, each judge has jurisdiction to
consider various forms of relief available in exclusion proceedings,
including applications for asylum and relief under section 243(h) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1158, 1253).

In deportation proceedings, the immigration judge determines whether
an individual who has already entered the United States is
deportable from this country. In such proceedings the judge also
adjudicates applications for the various forms of relief available
under this country's immigration laws. These include applications
for adjustment of status, suspension of deportation, voluntary
departure, relief under section 212(c) of the act (8 U.S.C. 1182),
and applications for asylum and withholding of deportation.

Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer

The Office is responsible for the general supervision of
administrative law judges in the performance of their duties under 8
U.S.C. 1324a1324c. Administrative law judge proceedings are
mandated by the Immigration and Nationality Act and concern
allegations of unlawful employment of aliens, unfair immigration-
related employment discrimination, and immigration document fraud.

The Parole Commission consists of three members, appointed by the
President with the advice and consent of the Senate. It has sole
authority to grant, modify, or revoke paroles of eligible U.S.

prisoners serving sentences of more than one year, including
military prisoners and D.C. Code prisoners housed in Federal
institutions. It is responsible for the supervision of parolees and
prisoners released upon the expiration of their sentences with
allowances for statutory good time, and the determination of
supervisory conditions and terms.

Probation officers supervise parolees and mandatory releases under
the direction of the Commission.

Under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29
U.S.C. 401), the Commission determines whether or not persons
convicted of certain crimes may serve as officials in the field of
organized labor or in labor-oriented management positions; likewise,
under the Employment Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 (29
U.S.C. 1111), the Commission determines whether or not such persons
may provide services to or be employed by employment benefit plans.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 gave the Commission jurisdiction in
setting release dates and terms of supervised release over all
foreign transfer treaty cases beginning January 1, 1989. For
offenders who committed their crimes after November 1, 1987, the
Commission applies the guidelines of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (98 Stat. 2032) abolished parole
eligibility for Federal offenders who commit offenses on or after
November 1, 1987. It also provided for the abolition of the
Commission on November 1, 1992. However, the Judicial Improvements
Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 5089) and the Parole Commission Phaseout Act
of 1996 (18 U.S.C. 4201 note) extended the Commission in 5-year
increments, through November 1, 2002.

For further information, contact the Office of the Chairman, United
States Parole Commission, Department of Justice, 5550 Friendship
Boulevard, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. Phone, 3014925990.

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) was
created with the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law
Enforcement Act of 1994 to achieve several goals: to advance the
philosophy of community policing as a national law enforcement
strategy; to deploy 100,000 new police officers in community
policing roles; to reinforce partnerships that will sustain
community policing; and to evaluate and demonstrate the
effectiveness of community policing to improve the quality of life
by reducing the levels of disorder, violence, and crime in our
communities.

The primary activity of the COPS Office is the awarding of
competitive, discretionary grants directly to law enforcement
agencies across the United States and its territories. Over the life
of the COPS Office, approximately $8 billion in grant funding will
be made available to achieve these goals.

The COPS Office is headed by a Director, appointed by the Attorney
General, and is organized into several divisions. The Grants
Administration Division is responsible for developing and designing
new programs to provide resources for the hiring of new officers and
to further the adoption and implementation of community policing,
reviewing grant applications, maintaining liaison with the Office of
Justice Programs for financial review of applications, monitoring
grant awards, developing and maintaining databases to support
policymaking, participating in the evaluation of the grant programs,
and coordination of the Office's research agenda. Within the Grants
Administration Division are the Police Hiring section and the
Program Planning, Research and Evaluation section.

The Training and Technical Assistance Division is responsible for
coordinating the provision of training and technical assistance to
advance the adoption, implementation and sustaining of community
policing in the thousands of communities served by the COPS Office.

The Legal Division is responsible for providing legal advice to the
Director and other functional areas of the COPS Office, and for
ensuring compliance with the legal requirements applicable to the
activities of the COPS Office.

The Congressional Relations Division assists Members of Congress in
serving their constituents, thereby facilitating greater
dissemination of information about COPS programs and activities, and
provides input in program design and development and policy
formulation so that programs and policies reflect legislative intent
and address congressional needs.

The Communications Division provides ongoing information about
community policing and COPS programs through every available channel
of communication, including timely and accurate responses to media
inquiries, interviews, public events, publications and related
materials produced by and for any telecommunication format.

The Intergovernmental and Public Liaison Division maintains channels
for communication and feedback regarding COPS programs with
representatives of interested local, State, and national
organizations and with local elected officials.

Finally, the Administrative Division provides support services to
the COPS Office, including resource management to recruit, train,
and maintain a professional workforce; fiscal resource management to
perform the accounting and budget formulation and execution
functions necessary to administer the COPS appropriation; facilities
management to acquire and maintain space, provide security, and
procure supplies, equipment, telephones, and other services; and
information resource management.

Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States

The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States is a
quasi-judicial, independent agency within the Department of Justice
which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign
governments, either under specific jurisdiction conferred by
Congress or pursuant to international claims settlement agreements.
The decisions of the Commission are final and are not reviewable
under any standard by any court or other authority.

Funds for payment of the Commission's awards are derived from
congressional appropriations, international claims settlements, or
the liquidation of foreign assets in the United States by the
Departments of Justice and the Treasury.

The Commission is currently conducting an Albanian Claims Program,
adjudicating claims and making awards compensating U.S. nationals
for losses resulting from nationalization, expropriation,
intervention and other property-taking by the former Communist
regime in Albania which took power at the end of World War II.

The Commission is compiling a registry of the estimated $5 billion
in outstanding claims against Iraq held by U.S. nationals, in
preparation for future Commission adjudication of such claims.

Claims to be registered include those that predate the invasion of
Kuwait by Iraq in August 1990, and certain claims of military
personnel or their survivors arising out of Desert Shield and Desert
Storm or Iraq's attack on the U.S.S. Stark in 1987.

The Commission is also conducting a Holocaust Survivors Claims
Program, to adjudicate the claims of U.S. nationals who were
interned and persecuted by the German Nazi regime before and during
World War II. The Commission's decisions will be used by the
Department of State as the basis for negotiation of a final
settlement of such claims with Germany.

In addition, the Commission will play a role in the implementation
of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of
1996. Under Title III of the act, Commission determinations on the
ownership and value of expropriated property in Cuba which were
rendered in its Cuban Claims Program (conducted from 196572) will
serve as the basis for lawsuits that may be filed by U.S. nationals
in the U.S. district court against foreigners who have invested in
or otherwise benefited from property formerly owned by the U.S.

nationals. The act further designates the Commission as a "Special
Master" available to the courts beginning in 1998 to determine the
ownership and value of expropriated property that was not the
subject of claims filed in the Commission's Cuban Claims Program.

The Commission also has authority under the War Claims Act of 1948,
as amended, to receive, determine the validity and amount, and
provide for the payment of claims by members of the U.S. armed
services and civilians held as prisoners of war or interned by a
hostile force in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict, or by
the survivors of such service members and civilians.

Finally, the Commission is responsible for maintaining records and
responding to inquiries related to the various claims programs it
has conducted against the Governments of Yugoslavia, Panama, Poland,
Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Italy, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia,
Cuba, the German Democratic Republic, the People's Republic of
China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Iran, as well as those
authorized under the War Claims Act of 1948, and other statutes.

The Commission's organization and functions are defined in the
International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as amended (22 U.S.C.
1621 et seq.), the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended (50 U.S.C.
app. 2001 et seq.), the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I (Public
Law 10499), and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Public Law 104114).

Publications and Films The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and Uniform
Crime Reports - Crime in the United States are available from the
Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402.

The Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States is
published each year by the Department of Justice, Washington, DC
20530.

Approximately nine textbooks on citizenship, consisting of teachers
manuals and student textbooks at various reading levels, are
distributed free to public schools for applicants for citizenship
and are on sale to all others from the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Public schools or
organizations under the supervision of public schools which are
entitled to free textbooks should make their requests to the
appropriate Immigration and Naturalization Service Regional Office
(See appropriate section of this manual for mailing addresses.). For
general information, call 2025143946.

The Freedom of Information Act Guide and Privacy Act Overview and
the Freedom of Information Case List, both published annually, are
available from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20530; and in electronic format through
Library of Congress. ISBN 016042921 8.

FOIA Update (Stock No. 727002 000006), published quarterly, is
available free of charge to FOIA offices and other interested
offices Governmentwide. This publication is also available from the
Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402; and in electronic format through Library of Congress.

Guidelines for Effective Human Relations Commissions, Annual Report
of the Community Relations Service, Community Relations Service
Brochure, CRS Hotline Brochure, Police Use of Deadly Force: A
Conciliation Handbook for Citizens and Police, Principles of Good
Policing: Avoiding Violence Between Police and Citizens, Resolving
Racial Conflict: A Guide for Municipalities, and Viewpoints and
Guidelines on Court-Appointed Citizens Monitoring Commissions in
School Desegregation are available upon request from the Public
Information Office, Community Relations Service, Department of
Justice, Washington, DC 20530.

A limited number of drug educational films are available, free of
charge, to civic, educational, private, and religious groups.

A limited selection of pamphlets and brochures is available. The
most widely requested publication is Drugs of Abuse, an
identification manual intended for professional use. Single copies
are free.

Copies of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission's semiannual
(through December 1966) and annual (from January 1967) reports to
the Congress concerning its activities are available at the
Commission in limited quantities.

In 1972, the National Institute of Justice established the National
Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). All five OJP bureaus now
support NCJRS, a clearinghouse of information and publications
concerning OJP programs and other information of interest to the
criminal justice community. The Office's National Institute of
Justice, which has supported the clearinghouse for almost 20 years,
provides most of the funding for the National Criminal Justice
Reference Service. Police, corrections agencies, courts, criminal
justice planners, juvenile justice practitioners, community crime
prevention groups, and others needing information for planning and
problem solving in criminal justice can refer to this international
information service specially designed to assist the justice
community.

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service provides information
from its computerized data base system free or at a minimal cost to
users through a variety of products and services including the
bimonthly NIJ Catalog, which contains abstracts of significant
additions to the data base and pertinent information and a Calendar
of Events announcing upcoming training courses and conferences;
selected hardcopy documents upon request; three types of data base
search packages; various microfiche products; and referrals to other
information sources.

Under contracts with OJP bureaus, the National Criminal Justice
Reference Service also operates the Drugs and Crime Data Center and
Clearinghouse, the Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse, the
Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, the Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse, the National Victims Resource Center, and the
Construction Information Exchange. All the Service's clearinghouses
may be contacted on 8008513420 (toll-free); or in the Washington,
DC, metropolitan area on 3012515500.

The NCJRS Electronic Bulletin Board, with 3,000 registered users,
makes NCJRS' services available online. The Bulletin Board may be
accessed by modem on 3017388895.

Organizations and individuals may register to receive information
from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service by writing
NCJRS, Box 6000, 1600 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850.

Small Business Activities Contract information for small businesses
can be obtained from the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization, Department of Justice, Tenth Street and Pennsylvania
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20530. Phone, 2026160521.

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